Bowling game apparatus with swingably supported pins



Jan. 20, 1953 DENNEY 2,626,153

BOWLING GAME APPARATUS WITH SWINGABLY SUPPORTED PINS Filed July 2'7, 1951 I I j /VE/V TOR 9 7.2 (j...

Attorney Patented Jan. 20, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOWLING GAME APPARATUS WITH SWINGABLY SUPPORTED PINS Claims.

This invention relates to a novel form of. game apparatus and more particularly to a game apparatus employed in the play of a game similar to the game of tenpins or duckpins and which will afford considerable amusement to both children and adults and requires considerable skill on the part of the player.

More particularly, it is an aim of the present invention to provide a game apparatus wherein pins simulating bowling pins are swing-ably supported above a surface along which balls will be rolled and wherein each pin after being struck by-a bowling ball will assume a position in which it will be prevented from being struck by another bowling ball until it has been reset, and in which the pin, in its position after being struck, will be readily recognized as a down pin for the purpose of scoring the number of pins made or "knocked down by each player.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a game apparatus having supporting elements for the pins so arranged that each pin when struck may swing through an arc of nearly 270 degrees from an upright position to come to rest in substantially a horizontal position supported at two longitudinally spaced points by two pin supporting elements so that the pin cannot be again struck by another bowling ball until it has been manually returned through an arc of substantially 270 degrees back to an upright set position.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the game apparatus;

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view thereof taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 3-3 of Figure 1, and

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of a modified form of the bowling pin.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the bowling game apparatus in its entirety is designated generally 5 and includes a three sided frame, designated generally 6, composed of a pair of laterally spaced side members I and a rear cross member 8. The side members I are each relatively long and wide and are disposed on edge so that each has a bottom edge adapted to rest upon a supporting surface 9. The cross member 8 is relatively narrow and extends between and is secured to the side members 1, in any suitable manner, adjacent corresponding ends of said side members I and near the upper edges thereof, so that the bottom edge of the rear cross member '8 is disposed substantially above the level of the surface 9 and above the level of the bottom edges of the side members I to permit a bowling ball III to roll therebeneath over the surface '9. The cross member 8 constitutes the rear end of the frame 6 and theopposite front end thereof is open, as clearly illustrated in Figures 1 and 3.

Five relatively heavy gauge wires or rods are disposed in the frame Bbetween the side members I and the ends of each of the wires or rods are suitably anchored in said side members I. The wires or rods are spaced substantially equal distances apart and in substantially parallelvrelationshi-p and the wire located nearest the rear frame member 8 is spaced therefrom a distance substantially equal to the spacing between the wires. One of the wires or rods II, disposed nearest the open front end of the frame 6 is straight from end to end thereof. A wire or red I2 disposed immediately behind the wire H is provided with a forwardly offset intermediate portion 13 which is spaced equal distances from the sides 1. A third wire 14, disposed immediately behind the wire I2, is provided with two forwardly offset portions l5 which are staggered relatively to the offset portion l3 and spaced equal distances from the sides 1. A fourth wire or rod l6 which is disposed immediately behind the wire I4 is provided with three forwardly olfset portions I! which are staggered relatively to the offset portions l5 and the intermediate one of which is disposed equal distances from the two sides 1 and the other two of which are disposed at equal distances each from an adjacent side 1. The fifth, rearmost wire or rod I8 is provided with four forwardly ofiset portions l9 which are spaced equal distances from one another and staggered with respect to the offset portions l1, all as clearly illustrated in Figure 1.

Before the offset portions are formed in the wires or rods l2, l4, l6 and I8, bowling pins 20 are applied to said wires or rods so that a bowling pin 20 will swingably engage on each of the offset portions [3, l5, l1 and [9. The bowling pins 20 are of a shape corresponding to the shape of duckpins or tenpins, and are each provided with an opening or bore 2| nearer its upper end than its lower end which turnably engages one of the forwardly offset portions.

In lieu of each pin 20, as illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, a pin 22 may be employed as illustrated in Figure 4, which constitutes a half of one of the pins 20 divided lengthwise. A strap member 23 is secured longitudinally to the flat, rear side 24 of each pin 22 by fastenings 25 and each strap has an outwardly offset transversely extending intermediate portion disposed .in opposed relationship to a transverse groove in the flat side 24 to form a bore 26 for turnably engaging one of the offset portions l3, I5, I! and I9. When the pins 22 are employed in lieu of the pins 20, they are mounted with their rounded sides 26 facing toward the open forward end of the frame 6 when said pins are in upright positions as illustrated in Figure 2. The pins 22 may be suitably weighted to cause each pin to be suspended in an upright" position substantially as illustrated in Figure 4. Likewise, the bore 28 ofeach pin 22 is located nearer the upper end of saidpin than the lower end thereof.

Before commencing to play a game with the apparatus 5, all the pins are positioned in upright position as illustrated in Figure 2 and in full lines in Figures 1 and 3and when so disposed, it will be noticed that the arrangement of the pins corresponds to the arrangement in which tenpins or duckpins are set up for bowling. In the play of the game each player in turn rolls anumber of balls In from a point, not shown, in front of the frame 6 toward the open front of the frame so that each ball will enter and pass through the frame and outwardly thereof beneath'the rear cross member 8. The'balls ID are rolled so as to strike the lower portions of the pins 20 or 22 and when a ball 10 strikes a pin with sufficient force it will cause the lowerpart of the pin to swing upwardly and rearwardly to a horizontal position then upwardly and forwardly to an inverted position and finally downwardly and forwardly so that the lower part of the pin will come to rest on the wire' or rod disposed in front of the wire or rod on which said pin is swingably supported, as illustrated by the broken arrowed tipped line 2'! in Figure 3. Thus the pin will swing through an arc of slightly less than 270 degrees and will come to rest in nearly a horizontal position, as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 3,representing a fdown position of the pin and so that a ball I subsequently rolled through the frame 6 will not contact a pin disposed in the dotted line position of the pin 29 of Figure 3. Each player rolls a predetermined number of balls usually two or three constituting a frame and the number of pins which'are knocked into the dotted line position of thepin 2!] of Figure 3 are then counted and this represents the players score for the frame. These pins are then each swung in the opposite direction past an inverted upright position and will then return by gravity to their normal upright position, as illustrated in Figure 2, preparatory to another player rolling a frame.

It will be noted that the distance between the forward offset portion of the wire or rod on which each pin is mounted and a portion of the wire or rod disposed immediately behind said ofiset portion is greater than the distance between the lower end of the pin and the opening thereof which engages the offset portion of the wire, so that the lower end of each pin may freely swing past the wire disposed immediately ther'ebehind; however, the wire portion disposed immediately in front of each wire offset portion is spaced therefrom a distance less than the distance between the wire ofiset' portion engaging bore and the lower end of each pin so that said lower end may not swing past the wire disposed immediately in front thereof and will accordingly come to rest thereon.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as myiinventionz 1. A bowling game apparatus including an elongated frame having an open forward end and a rear end provided with an open bottom portion through which balls are adapted to roll in passing longitudinally through the frame, said frame including elongated transversely spaced relatively wide side members having bottom edges adapted 1 to rest on a supporting surface, a plurality of rods or wires extendin transversely of the frame and secured at their ends in said side members substantially above the level of said bottom edges, said wires being disposedin longitudinally spaced substantially parallel relationship to one another, certain of said wireseach having at least one forwardly offset portion, each of said forwardly offset portions being staggered relatively to the offset portions of adjacent wires or rods and being disposed adjacent to a portion of a wire disposed immediately in front thereof and more remote to a portion of a wire disposed immediately therebehind, and a bowling pin swingably mounted on each of said forwardly offset portions, each of said bowling pins having a transverse bore turnably engaging one of said ofiset ortions and which is disposed nearer the upper end than the lower end of said pin and at a distance from the lower end of the pin less than the distance between the offset portion on which it is mounted and the portion of the wire disposed immediately therebehind and greater than the distance between said offset portion and the portion of the wire disposed immediately in'front thereof, whereby the lower end of each pin may swing upwardly and rearwardly to an inverted position then downwardly and forwardly until the lower end of the pin comes to rest upon the wire portion disposed immediately in front of the offset portion on which the pin is mounted for supporting the pin in substantially a horizontal down position, said pins bein disposed with their lower ends adjacent the supporting surface of the frame when the pins are in upright positions to be struck by balls rolling through the frame and to be swung thereby to substantially horizontal down positions.

2. A bowling game apparatus as in claim 1, said apparatus including four wires provided with oifset portion-s including a rearmost wire having four equally spaced offset portions, each of the other three wires, provided with offset portions, having one less offset portion than the wire disposed immediately therebehind and which off-- set portions are staggered relatively to the offset portion of the wire or wires disposed adjacent thereto and provided with offset portions.

7 3. A bowling game apparatus as in claim 1, said bowling pins being shaped to correspond to the shape of tenpins and duckpins and the longer lower end of each pin, from the bore of the pin which engages an offset'portion, being larger in diameter than the other, shorter end of the pin.

4. A bowling game apparatus as in claim 1, each of said pins being half circular in cross section and having a fiat rear side, a strap member secured to said fiat rear side and having an outwardly ofiset portion, T said fiat side having a transverse groove disposed in obposed relationship to said outwardly offset strap portion to form a transverse bore which turnably engages a forwardly offset wire portion.

5. A bowling game apparatus comprising a frame having elongated transversely spaced relatively wide side members havin bottom edges adapted to rest upon a supporting surface and means connecting said side members in spaced substantially parallel relationship, said frame having an open forward end and a rear end provided with an open bottom portion through which bowling balls are adapted to roll longitudinally through the frame between the side members thereof, a plurality of wires extending transversely across the frame and anchored at their ends in said side members in longitudinally spaced substantially parallel relationship to one another, a plurality of bowling pins mounted on certain of said wires for swinging movement relatively thereto in vertical planes, said wires having forwardly offset portions engaging said pins, the

' pins supported by each wire being staggered relatively to the pins supported by the wire or wires disposed immediately adjacent thereto, said pins having enlarged lower ends and restricted upper ends and swingably engaging the forwardly oflset wire portions nearer their upper ends than their lower ends, the lower ends of said pins being adapted to swing upwardly and rearwardly to inverted positions when struck by a bowling ball passing through the frame and thereafter swinging downwardly and forwardly into engagement with a portion of wire disposed immediately in front of the forwardly offset wire portion on which the pin is swingably mounted, for supporting each pin thus struck in substantially a horizontal position and at a level to permit bowling balls thereafter to roll therebeneath without coming in contact therewith.

ROBERT R. DENNEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,181,054 Anderson Apr. 25, 1916 2,126,572 Morrill Aug. 9, 1938 2,247,095 MacDougall June 24, 1941 

